System and method of processing a satellite signal

ABSTRACT

A system and method of processing a satellite signal is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the method includes receiving a satellite signal at a receiver, where the satellite signal includes a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) portion and a radio frequency (RF) portion. The method also includes decoding the satellite signal to produce a digital MPEG transport stream signal that includes the MPEG portion, by removing the RF portion from the satellite signal without substantially altering the MPEG portion. The method also includes transmitting the digital MPEG transport stream signal to a vestigial sideband (VSB) modulator, where the VSB modulator transmodulates the digital MPEG transport stream signal to a VSB signal.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is generally related to processing a satellitesignal.

BACKGROUND

Technological advancements in television and video transmission serviceshave enabled providers to offer viewers a broad range of entertainment.For example, the growth of cable and satellite delivery systems hasallowed content providers to increase programming from fifty channels toover five hundred channels, in just a decade. The increase in the numberof available channels allows viewers to watch their favorite types ofcontent, such as sports, comedy, news, and documentaries, at nearly anytime of day, simply by switching to a channel that is dedicated to thecontent type.

The growth of satellite delivery systems has presented technicaldilemmas when transmitting a satellite signal to more than onedestination. The L-band transport frequencies that are often used totransport satellite signals after they are received at a satellite dishtypically require signal conversion to achieve transmission overconsumer grade coaxial cable networks. During the conversion process,the signals can be converted from more robust, higher bandwidth signalsto less robust, more bandwidth-efficient signals. Video and audioportions carried by the signals are typically altered or otherwisemanipulated during this conversion process, which can lessen videoand/or audio quality. Hence, there is a need to transport satellitesignals to multiple destination devices via signals that support largedata payloads, without significantly altering video or audio portionscarried by the signals

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a particular embodiment of asystem to deliver television content;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a second particular embodiment ofa system to deliver television content

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a general diagram showing datafields of signals carrying television content;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a general diagram showing datafields of signals carrying television content;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a particular embodiment of amethod of processing a satellite signal to deliver television content;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a second particular embodiment ofa method of processing a satellite signal to deliver television content;and

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A method of processing a satellite signal is disclosed and includesreceiving a satellite signal at a receiver, where the satellite signalincludes a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) portion and a radiofrequency (RF) portion. The method also includes decoding the satellitesignal to produce a digital MPEG transport stream signal that includesthe MPEG portion, by removing the RF portion from the satellite signalwithout substantially altering the MPEG portion. The method alsoincludes transmitting the digital MPEG transport stream signal to avestigial sideband (VSB) modulator, where the VSB modulatortransmodulates the digital MPEG transport stream signal to a VSB signal.

In another embodiment, a system to process a satellite signal isdisclosed and includes a receiver having an input to receive a satellitesignal, where the satellite signal includes a Moving Picture ExpertsGroup (MPEG) portion and a radio frequency (RF) portion. The system alsoincludes a decoder integrated with the receiver to remove the RF portionfrom the satellite signal, without substantially altering the MPEGportion, where the decoder has an output to provide a digital MPEGtransport stream signal that includes the MPEG portion. The receiver isconfigured to transmit the digital MPEG transport stream signal to avestigial sideband (VSB) modulator that includes logic to transmodulatethe digital MPEG transport stream signal to a VSB signal that includesthe MPEG portion, where the VSB signal suitable for transmission to aplurality of subscriber devices via a private access network.

In another embodiment, a computer program embedded in acomputer-readable medium is disclosed and includes instructions toproduce a digital MPEG transport stream signal from a satellite signal,by removing a radio frequency (RF) portion of the satellite signalwithout substantially altering a Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)portion of the satellite signal. The computer program also includesinstructions to transmit the digital MPEG transport stream signal to avestigial sideband (VSB) modulator to transmodulate the digital MPEGtransport stream to a VSB signal that is suitable for transmission to aplurality of subscriber devices via a private access network.

Referring to FIG. 1, an illustrative embodiment of a system to delivertelevision content by processing a received satellite signal isillustrated and is generally designated 100. As shown, the system 100can include a satellite dish 102. The satellite dish 102 is coupled to areceiver/decoder 106. In a particular embodiment, the satellite dish 102can be coupled to a low-noise blockdown (LNB) converter 103 that iscoupled to the receiver/decoder 106. In another embodiment, the LNBconverter 103 can be integrated with the receiver/decoder 106.

The receiver/decoder 106 is coupled to a vestigial sideband (VSB)modulator 112. In a particular embodiment, the receiver/decoder 106 iscoupled to an encryption module 110, which is coupled to the VSBmodulator 112. In an illustrative embodiment, the VSB modulator 112 canbe configured to transmodulate signals to 8-VSB signals, 16-VSB signals,or any combination thereof. Additionally, the VSB modulator 112 can beconfigured to transmit VSB signals 114 carrying television content tosubscriber devices such as a digital television device 118, a set-topbox device 132, or any combination thereof, via a private access network116. Subscriber devices 118, 132 can communicate with the private accessnetwork 116 via coaxial cables, fiber optic cables, twisted pairs, orany combination thereof.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a subscriber can receive VSB signals 114 viathe private access network 116 at a digital television device 118. In aparticular embodiment, the digital television device 118 can receive VSBsignals 114 via a network interface 120 that communicates with anAdvanced Television Systems Committee standards-compliant receiver(“ATSC receiver”) 122. The ATSC receiver 120 is coupled to a processor124 that communicates with a display screen 130 via a display interface125. Additionally, the processor 124 can be coupled to a remoteinterface 126, through which the processor 124 receives commands from aremote control device 128.

In one embodiment, a subscriber can receive VSB signals 114 via theprivate access network 116 at a set-top box device 132. In a particularembodiment, the set-top box device 132 can receive VSB signals 114 via aset-top box network interface 134 that communicates with a set-top boxATSC receiver 136. The set-top box ATSC receiver 136 is coupled to aset-top box processor 138 that communicates with a television monitor146 via a set-top box display interface 144. Additionally, the set-topbox processor 138 can be coupled to a set-top box remote interface 140,through which the processor 138 receives commands from a remote controldevice 142.

In a particular embodiment, a satellite signal 104 having a radiofrequency (RF) portion and a Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)portion can be received from the satellite dish 102 at thereceiver/decoder 106. The satellite signal 104 can be, for example, aM-phase shift keying PSK (M-PSK) signal, such as a quadrature phaseshift keying (QPSK) or octal phase shift keying (OPSK) signal. In anillustrative embodiment, the satellite signal 104 can be received at thedish via C-band transport frequencies (3700 MHz-4200 MHz) or Ku-bandtransport frequencies (11,700 MHz-12,200 MHz), and the LNB converter 103can convert the satellite signal 104 to L-band transport frequencies(500 MHz-1500 MHz).

The receiver/decoder 106 decodes the satellite signal 104 to produce adigital MPEG transport stream signal 108. In a particular embodiment,the receiver/decoder 106 can include hardware logic, computer programinstructions, or any combination thereof, to remove the RF portion ofthe satellite signal 104 when decoding the satellite signal 104 withoutsubstantially altering or affecting the MPEG portion, for example, byaltering the sequence of the content or altering the quality of audioand/or video included in the MPEG portion. In an illustrativeembodiment, the digital MPEG transport stream signal 108 produced bydecoding the satellite signal 104 can include a forward error correction(FEC) portion, a cyclical redundancy check (CRC) portion, a conditionalaccess (CA) portion, any other portion suitable to correct errors andrestrict access to the digital MPEG transport stream signal 108, or anycombination thereof. In this embodiment, the receiver/decoder 106 caninclude hardware logic, instructions, or any combination thereof, toremove the forward error correction (FEC) portion, the cyclicalredundancy check portion, the conditional access portion, any portion ofthe digital MPEG transport stream signal 108 other than the MPEGportion, or any combination thereof.

In a particular embodiment, the receiver/decoder 106 is configured totransmit the digital MPEG transport stream signal 108 to the VSBmodulator 112. Alternatively, the receiver/decoder 106 can be configuredto transmit the digital MPEG transport stream signal 108 to theencryption module 110 that encrypts the digital MPEG transport streamsignal 108 and transmits the resulting signal 108 to the VSB modulator112. The encryption module 110 can include hardware logic, instructions,or any combination thereof, to add a conditional access (CA) portion, adigital rights management (DRM) portion, a program system information(PSI), or any combination of the above, to the digital MPEG transportstream signal 108.

The VSB modulator 112 is configured to convert the digital MPEGtransport stream signal 108 to a VSB signal 114 and to transmit the VSBsignal 114 to subscriber devices 118, 132 via a private access network116. The VSB signal 114 can be an 8-VSB signal or a 16-VSB signal. In aparticular embodiment, the VSB modulator 112 can include hardware logic,instructions, or any combination thereof, to add ATSCstandards-compliant portions to the digital MPEG transport stream signal108. For example, the VSB modulator 112 can add an ATSC wrapper thatincludes an ATSC FEC portion, an ATSC CRC portion, a recalculatedversion of the CRC portion within the satellite signal 104, ATSCdescriptor files/tables, or any combination thereof, to the digital MPEGtransport stream signal 108 before, during or after conversion to theVSB signal 114.

In a particular embodiment, the VSB modulator 112 transmits the VSBsignal 114 to a digital television device 118 that communicates with theprivate access network 116 via a network interface 120. The digitaltelevision device 118 receives the VSB signal 114 at the ATSC receiver122, and the television content carried by the VSB signal 114 isdisplayed at the display screen 130. In an alternative embodiment, suchas when a subscriber television does not have an ATSC receiver, the VSBmodulator 112 can transmit the VSB signal 114 to a set-top box device132 that includes a set-top box ATSC receiver 136. The set-top boxdevice 132 can process the VSB signal 114 and transmit televisioncontent carried by the VSB signal 114 to a television monitor 146coupled to the set-top box device 132 via the display interface 144.

Referring to FIG. 2, a second illustrative embodiment of a system todeliver television content by processing a satellite signal isillustrated and is generally designated 200. As shown, the system 200includes a satellite dish 202. The satellite dish 202 is coupled to areceiver/decoder 206. In a particular embodiment, the receiver/decoder206 can include a low-noise blockdown (LNB) converter 203, errorcorrection logic 205, and an encryption module 210.

The receiver/decoder 206 is coupled to a vestigial sideband (VSB)modulator 212. In an illustrative embodiment, the VSB modulator 212 canbe configured to transmodulate signals to 8-VSB signals, 16-VSB signals,or any combination thereof. Additionally, the VSB modulator 212 can beconfigured to transmit VSB signals 214 carrying television content tosubscriber devices such as a digital television device 218, a set-topbox device 232, or any combination thereof, via a private access network216.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a subscriber can receive VSB signals 214 viathe private access network 216 at a digital television device 218. In aparticular embodiment, the digital television device 218 can receive VSBsignals 214 via a network interface 220 that communicates with anAdvanced Television Systems Committee standards-compliant receiver(“ATSC receiver”) 222. The ATSC receiver 220 is coupled to a processor224 that communicates with a display screen 230 via a display interface225. Additionally, the processor 224 can be coupled to a remoteinterface 226, through which the processor 224 receives commands from aremote control device 228.

In one embodiment, a subscriber can receive VSB signals 214 via theprivate access network 216 at a set-top box device 232. In a particularembodiment, the set-top box device 232 can receive VSB signals 214 via aset-top box network interface 234 that communicates with a set-top boxATSC receiver 236. The set-top box ATSC receiver 236 is coupled to aset-top box processor 238 that communicates with a television monitor246 via a set-top box display interface 244. Additionally, the set-topbox processor 238 can be coupled to a set-top box remote interface 240,through which the processor 238 receives commands from a remote controldevice 242.

In a particular embodiment, a satellite signal 204 having a radiofrequency (RF) portion and a Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)portion can be received from the satellite dish 202 at thereceiver/decoder 206. The satellite signal 204 can be, for example, aM-phase shift keying PSK (M-PSK) signal, and the receiver/decoder 206can be a M-PSK receiver/decoder. In an illustrative embodiment, thesatellite signal 204 can be received at the dish via C-band transportfrequencies (3700 MHz-4200 MHz) or Ku-band transport frequencies (11,700MHz-22,200 MHz), and the receiver/decoder 206 can convert the satellitesignal 204 to L-band transport frequencies (500 MHz-2500 MHz) via theLNB converter 203.

The receiver/decoder 206 decodes the satellite signal 204 to produce adigital MPEG transport stream signal 208. In a particular embodiment,the receiver/decoder 206 can include hardware logic, computer programinstructions, or any combination thereof, to remove the RF portion ofthe satellite signal 204 when decoding the satellite signal 204 withoutsubstantially altering or affecting the MPEG portion. In an illustrativeembodiment, the digital MPEG transport stream signal 208 produced bydecoding the satellite signal 204 can include a forward error correction(FEC) portion, a cyclical redundancy check portion, a conditional accessportion, any other portion suitable to correct errors and restrictaccess to the digital MPEG transport stream signal 208, or anycombination thereof. In this embodiment, the receiver/decoder 206 caninclude hardware logic, instructions, or any combination thereof, toremove the forward error correction (FEC) portion, the cyclicalredundancy check portion, the conditional access portion, any portion ofthe digital MPEG transport stream signal 208 besides the MPEG portion,or any combination thereof.

In an illustrative, non-limiting embodiment, the receiver/decoder 206can detect errors in the digital MPEG transport stream signal 208 andcorrect the errors using the error correction logic 205. In oneembodiment, the error correction logic 205 can include FEC hardwarelogic, instructions, or any combination thereof, at the receiver/decoder206. In another embodiment, the error correction logic 205 can includehardware logic, instructions, or any combination thereof, to correcterrors according to FEC portions carried by the satellite signal.

The receiver/decoder 206 is configured to transmit the digital MPEGtransport stream signal 208 to the VSB modulator 212. In a particularembodiment, the receiver/decoder 206 can be configured to encrypt thedigital MPEG transport stream signal via the encryption module 210,prior to transmitting the signal 208 to the VSB modulator 212. Theencryption module 210 can include hardware logic, instructions, or anycombination thereof, to add a conditional access (CA) portion, a digitalrights management (DRM) portion, a program system information (PSI), orany combination of the above, to the digital MPEG transport streamsignal 208.

The VSB modulator 212 is configured to convert the digital MPEGtransport stream signal 208 to a VSB signal 214 and to transmit the VSBsignal 214 to subscriber devices 218, 232 via a private access network216. The VSB signal 214 can be an 8-VSB signal or a 16-VSB signal. In aparticular embodiment, the VSB modulator 212 can include hardware logic,instructions, or any combination thereof, to add ATSCstandards-compliant portions to the digital MPEG transport stream signal208. For example, the VSB modulator 212 can add an ATSC wrapper thatincludes an ATSC FEC portion, an ATSC CRC portion, a recalculatedversion of the CRC portion within the satellite signal 204, ATSCdescriptor files/tables, or any combination thereof, to the digital MPEGtransport stream signal 208 before, during or after conversion to theVSB signal 214.

In a particular embodiment, the VSB modulator 212 transmits the VSBsignal 214 to a digital television device 218 that communicates with theprivate access network 216 via a network interface 220. The digitaltelevision device 218 receives the VSB signal 214 at the ATSC receiver222, and the television content carried by the VSB signal 214 isdisplayed at the display screen 230. In an alternative embodiment, suchas when a subscriber television does not have an ATSC receiver, the VSBmodulator 212 can transmit the VSB signal 214 to a set-top box device232 that includes a set-top box ATSC receiver 236. The set-top boxdevice 232 can process the VSB signal 214 and transmit televisioncontent carried by the VSB signal 214 to a television monitor 246coupled to the set-top box device 232 via the display interface 244.

Referring to FIG. 3, a general diagram is shown to illustrate datafields of signals carrying television content are illustrated before andafter transmodulation from a satellite signal 300 to a vestigialsideband (VSB) signal 312 using the system described with reference toFIG. 1. A satellite signal 300 includes a radio frequency (RF) portion302 and a Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) portion 306 that caninclude an audio portion, a video portion, an electronic program guide(EPG) portion, or any combination thereof. In an illustrativeembodiment, the satellite signal 300 can also include an initial forwarderror correction portion 304, a conditional access portion 308, and aninitial cyclical redundancy check (CRC) portion 310.

The VSB signal 312 produced by transmodulation of the satellite signal300 includes the MPEG portion 306. In a particular embodiment, the VSBsignal 312 can also include an Advanced Television Systems Committeestandards-compliant (ATSC) wrapper 314 that includes an ATSC FECportion, an ATSC CRC portion, ATSC descriptor files/tables, or anycombination of the above. In an illustrative embodiment, the ATSC CRCportion 316 can be a recalculated version of the initial CRC portion310. In a particular embodiment, the MPEG portion 306 is unaltered orsubstantially unaltered after transmodulation. In an alternative,non-limiting embodiment, the MPEG portion 306 can be unaltered exceptfor its encryption via a conditional access portion 318 that isintegrated with the MPEG portion 306.

Referring to FIG. 4, a general diagram is shown to illustrate datafields of signals carrying television content are illustrated before andafter various aspects of signal processing described with reference toFIG. 1. A satellite signal 400 includes a radio frequency (RF) portion402 and a Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) portion 406 that caninclude an audio portion, a video portion, an electronic program guide(EPG) portion, or any combination thereof. In an illustrativeembodiment, the satellite signal 400 can also include an initial forwarderror correction portion 404, a conditional access portion 408, and aninitial cyclical redundancy check (CRC) portion 410.

Decoding of the satellite signal 400, for example, by thereceiver/decoder 106 illustrated in FIG. 1, produces a digital MPEGtransport stream signal 412. In an illustrative embodiment, the digitalMPEG transport stream signal 412 includes only the MPEG portion 406 ofthe satellite signal 400 in digital format. As shown in FIG. 4, thedigital MPEG transport stream signal 412 can be encrypted, for example,by the encryption module 110 illustrated in FIG. 1. This encryption canproduce an encrypted digital MPEG transport stream signal 414 thatincludes the MPEG portion 406 of the satellite signal 400 in digitalformat and an encryption portion 416 appended to the MPEG portion 406.In a particular embodiment, the encryption portion 416 can include aconditional access portion, a digital rights management portion, aprogram systems information portion, or any combination thereof.

In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the encrypted digital MPEGtransport stream signal 414 is transmodulated, for example, by the VSBmodulator 112 illustrated in FIG. 1. This transmodulation produces avestigial sideband (VSB) signal 418 that includes the MPEG portion 406and the encryption portion 416. In a particular embodiment, the VSBsignal 418 can also include an Advanced Television Systems Committeestandards-compliant (ATSC) wrapper 418 that includes an ATSC FEC portion420 and an ATSC CRC portion 422, and ATSC descriptor files 424. The ATSCwrapper 418 can be appended to the MPEG portion 406 and the encryptionportion 416 by the VSB modulator before, during, or aftertransmodulation.

Referring to FIG. 5, an embodiment of a method of processing a satellitesignal to deliver television content is illustrated. At block 500, asatellite signal is received at a receiver. In an illustrativeembodiment, the satellite signal can be a M-phase shift keying (M-PSK)signal, such as a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or an octal phaseshift keying (OPSK) signal. In this embodiment, the receiver can be aM-PSK receiver. Moving to block 502, the receiver decodes the satellitesignal to produce a digital Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)transport stream signal. In a particular embodiment, decoding thesatellite signal and producing the digital MPEG transport stream signalcan include removing a radio frequency (RF) portion, an initial forwarderror correction (FEC) portion, an initial cyclical redundancy check(CRC) portion, a conditional access (CA) portion, or any combinationthereof, from the satellite signal, while leaving an MPEG portioncarried by the satellite signal at least substantially intact.

Continuing to decision step 504, in a particular embodiment, thereceiver can include logic or instructions to determine whether thedigital MPEG transport stream should be encrypted. If the receiverdetermines that the MPEG transport stream should not be encrypted, themethod proceeds to block 508. Conversely, if the receiver determinesthat the MPEG transport stream should be encrypted, the method proceedsto block 506, and the receiver transmits the MPEG transport stream to anencryption module. The method then continues to block 508. In anillustrative embodiment, the MPEG transport stream can be encrypted atthe encryption module by appending a conditional access portion, adigital rights management (DRM) portion, a program system informationportion (PSI), or any combination thereof, to the MPEG portion of thedigital MPEG transport stream signal. In another embodiment, the MPEGportion of the digital MPEG transport stream signal can be encrypted, byintegrating conditional access information with the MPEG portion.

At block 508, the digital MPEG transport stream signal is transmitted toa VSB modulator, where it is transmodulated to produce an 8-VSB or16-VSB signal that includes the MPEG portion. If the digital MPEGtransport stream signal is not encrypted, it is transmitted to the VSBmodulator by the receiver. If the digital MPEG transport stream signalis encrypted, it is transmitted to the VSB modulator by the encryptionmodule. In a particular embodiment, the VSB modulator can also append anATSC wrapper that includes an ATSC FEC portion, an ATSC CRC portion, arecalculated version of the CRC portion within the satellite signal,ATSC descriptor files/tables or any combination thereof, to the MPEGportion before, during or after transmodulation of the digital MPEGtransport stream signal to the VSB signal. Moving to block 510, the VSBmodulator transmits the VSB signal to one or more subscriber devices,such as digital television devices, set-top box devices, or anycombination thereof, via a private access network. The method terminatesat 512.

Referring to FIG. 6, another embodiment of a method of processing asatellite signal to deliver television content is illustrated. At block600, a M-PSK satellite signal that includes a Moving Pictures ExpertsGroup (MPEG) portion, a radio frequency (RF) portion, an initial forwarderror correction (FEC) portion, an initial cyclical redundancy check(CRC) portion, and an initial conditional access (CA) portion isreceived at a M-PSK receiver. Moving to block 602, the receiver removesthe RF portion from the satellite signal. In a particular embodiment,the method continues to decision step 604, and the receiver determineswhether errors exist within the M-PSK signal or the MPEG portion carriedby the signal. If no errors exist, the method continues to block 608. Onthe other hand, if errors exist, the method proceeds to block 606, andthe receiver corrects the errors using the FEC portion carried by theM-PSK signal, FEC logic at the receiver, or any combination thereof. Themethod then moves to block 608.

At block 608, the receiver removes the initial FEC portion, the initialCRC portion, and the initial CA portion, or any combination thereof,from the satellite signal, while leaving the MPEG portion intact.Continuing to block 610, the receiver produces a digital MPEG transportstream signal from the satellite signal. The digital MPEG transportstream signal includes the MPEG portion carried by the satellite signal.

Proceeding to decision step 612, in a particular embodiment, thereceiver can include logic or instructions to determine whether thedigital MPEG transport stream signal should be encrypted. If thereceiver determines that the digital MPEG transport stream signal shouldnot be encrypted, the method continues to block 616. On the other hand,if the receiver determines that the digital MPEG transport stream signalshould be encrypted, the method proceeds to block 614, and an encryptionmodule integrated with the receiver appends a conditional accessportion, a digital rights management (DRM) portion, a program systeminformation portion (PSI), or any combination thereof, to the MPEGportion of the digital MPEG transport stream signal. The method thencontinues to block 616.

At block 616, the receiver transmits the digital MPEG transport streamsignal (encrypted or not encrypted) to a VSB modulator. In a particularembodiment, the VSB modulator appends an Advanced Television SystemsCommittee standards-compliant (ATSC) wrapper to the MPEG portion. TheATSC wrapper can include an ATSC FEC portion, ATSC descriptorfiles/tables, or any combination of the above. The method continues toblock 618, and the VSB modulator recalculates the initial CRC portionbased at least partially on the ATSC FEC portion, and adds the ATSC CRCportion to the ATSC wrapper. The method then proceeds to block 620, andthe digital MPEG transport stream signal is transmodulated to a 8-VSB or16-VSB signal. Moving to block 622, the VSB modulator transmits the VSBsignal to one or more subscriber devices, such as digital televisiondevices, set-top box devices, or any combination thereof, via a privateaccess network. The method terminates at 624.

Though the aspects of the disclosed methods have been presented in acertain order, for ease of description, certain portions of the methodmay be performed in a different order or simultaneously. For example, inFIG. 6, the addition of an ATSC wrapper, recalculated CRC portion, orany combination thereof, may take place before, during, or aftertransmodulation of the digital MPEG transport stream signal to a VSBsignal.

In conjunction with the configuration of structure described herein, thesystem and method disclosed provide a system and method of converting asatellite signal to a signal that can transport television content overa consumer-grade coaxial cable network, such as a Radio Guide 6 (RG-6)network. In one embodiment, the system receives a satellite signal, suchas a M-PSK signal and transmodulates it to an ATSC compliant 8/16 VSBsignal, without altering the MPEG portion carried by the satellitesignal. Because VSB signals can support large data payloads,transmitting television content using VSB signals supports multicastingand data transmission with television content, including digital andhigh-definition television content. Additionally, in a particularembodiment, the use of ATSC standards allow “off the shelf” digitaltelevision receivers to decode the MPEG transport streams carried by theVSB signals without the use of a set-top box device.

Referring to FIG. 7, an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem is shown and is designated 700. The computer system 700 caninclude a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computersystem 700, or a portion thereof, to perform any one or more of themethods or computer based functions disclosed herein. The computersystem 700, or any portion thereof, may operate as a standalone deviceor may be a hardware or software module within a satellite signalreceiver, encryption module, VSB modulator, or a network device, asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The computer system 700 can also be implemented as or incorporated intovarious other devices, such as a digital television or set-top boxdevice, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system 700 can beimplemented using electronic devices that provide audio, video or datacommunication. Further, while a single computer system 700 isillustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include anycollection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointlyexecute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or morecomputer functions, such as the systems illustrated in FIG. 1 and 2.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the computer system 700 may include aprocessor 702, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), agraphics-processing unit (GPU), or both. Moreover, the computer system700 can include a main memory 704 and a static memory 706 that cancommunicate with each other via a bus 708. As shown, the computer system700 may further include a video display unit 710, such as a liquidcrystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flatpanel display, a solid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT).Additionally, the computer system 700 may include an input device 712,such as a remote control input, an input control panel, a keyboard, amouse, a gaming station input, or one or more keys disposed on a set-topbox device. The computer system 700 can also include a disk drive unit716, a signal generation device 718, and a network interface device 720.

In an illustrative embodiment, the computer system 700 can include aremote control interface 728, such as the remote control interface 216of the set-top box device illustrated in FIG. 2. The remote controlinterface 728 can receive inputs from a remote control device.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 7, the disk drive unit716 may include a computer-readable medium 722 in which one or more setsof instructions 724, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 724 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 724 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 704,the static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702 during executionby the computer system 700. The main memory 704 and the processor 702also may include computer-readable media.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 724 or receives instructions 724 responsive to apropagated signal, so that a device connected to a network 726 cancommunicate audio, video or data over the network 726. Further, theinstructions 724 may be transmitted or received over the network 726 viathe network interface device 720.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to suchstandards and protocols. Such standards are periodically superseded byfaster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the samefunctions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having thesame or similar functions as those disclosed herein are consideredequivalents thereof.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, thedisclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative ratherthan restrictive.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may begrouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing a satellite signal, themethod comprising: receiving at a receiver from a satellite dish asatellite signal; removing an initial radio frequency portion from thesatellite signal without substantially altering a sequence of mediacontents of a moving picture experts group portion of the satellitesignal and without substantially altering a quality of the mediacontents of the moving picture experts group portion; removing aninitial conditional access portion from the satellite signal withoutsubstantially altering the sequence of media contents of the movingpicture experts group portion of the satellite signal; decoding thesatellite signal at the receiver to produce a digital moving pictureexperts group transport stream signal that includes the moving pictureexperts group portion; correcting one or more detected errors in themoving picture experts group transport stream signal using errorcorrection data of the satellite signal to generate a corrected digitalmoving picture experts group transport stream signal; encrypting thecorrected digital moving picture experts group transport stream signalat the receiver to form an encrypted corrected digital moving pictureexperts group transport stream signal; sending the encrypted correcteddigital moving picture experts group transport stream signal from thereceiver to a modulator to convert the encrypted corrected digitalmoving picture experts group transport stream signal to vestigialsideband signals for transmission to devices, wherein the vestigialsideband signals include an 8-VSB signal and a 16-VSB signal;multicasting the 8-VSB signal to one or more first subscriber devicesvia a private access network; and multicasting the 16-VSB signal to oneor more second subscriber devices via the private access network.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the 8-VSB signal is transmitted via aconsumer grade coaxial cable network to at least one of the one or morefirst subscriber devices, wherein the consumer grade coaxial cablenetwork includes a radio guide 6 compliant coaxial cable.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the vestigial sideband signals includehigh-definition television content.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising adding an Advanced Television Systems Committeestandards-compliant wrapper to the encrypted corrected digital movingpicture experts group transport stream signal, wherein the AdvancedTelevision Systems Committee standards-compliant wrapper comprises: anAdvanced Television Systems Committee standards-compliant forward errorcorrection portion, an Advanced Television Systems Committeestandards-compliant cyclical redundancy check portion, or anycombination thereof; and an Advanced Television Systems Committeestandards-compliant descriptor file, an Advanced Television SystemsCommittee standards-compliant descriptor table, or any combinationthereof.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the Advanced TelevisionSystems Committee standards-compliant wrapper further comprises arecalculation of an initial cyclical redundancy check portion, whereinthe initial cyclical redundancy check portion is associated with thesatellite signal.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the encryptingfurther comprises appending the conditional access portion to the movingpicture experts group portion.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theencrypting includes adding a digital rights management portion to themoving picture experts group portion.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinat least one of the one or more first subscriber devices and the one ormore second subscriber devices includes a digital television device thatis not coupled to a set-top box device.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the digital television device is a high-definition televisiondevice.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding an AdvancedTelevision Systems Committee standards-compliant wrapper to thevestigial sideband signals.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein at leastone of the one or more first subscriber devices and the one or moresecond subscriber devices includes a set-top box device coupled to atelevision monitor.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprisingpassing the satellite signal through a low-noise blockdown converter.13. A system to process a satellite signal, the system comprising: areceiver/decoder configured to: receive a satellite signal, wherein thesatellite signal comprises a moving picture experts group portion and aradio frequency; remove the radio frequency portion from the receivedsatellite signal to provide a digital moving picture experts grouptransport stream signal that includes the moving picture experts groupportion, wherein the radio frequency portion is removed withoutsubstantially altering a sequence of media contents of the movingpicture experts group portion and without substantially altering aquality of the media contents of the moving picture experts groupportion; and correct one or more detected errors in the moving pictureexperts group transport stream signal with error correction data of thesatellite signal; an encryption module comprising hardware logic, theencryption module configured to: produce an encrypted digital movingpicture experts group transport stream signal; append a conditionalaccess portion to the digital moving picture experts group transportstream signal; and a vestigial sideband modulator to receive theencrypted digital moving picture experts group transport stream signalfrom the encryption module, wherein the vestigial sideband modulator isconfigured to transmodulate the encrypted digital moving picture expertsgroup transport stream signal to vestigial sideband signals, wherein thevestigial sideband signals include an 8-VSB signal to be multicast toone or more first subscriber devices via a private access network and a16-VSB signal to be multicast to one or more second subscriber devicesvia the private access network.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thereceiver/decoder is further configured to couple to a satellite dish atan input of the receiver/decoder.
 15. The system of claim 13, whereinthe 16-VSB signal is transmitted via a consumer grade coaxial cablenetwork to at least one of the one or more second subscriber devices.16. The system of claim 13, wherein the 8-VSB signal is transmitted viaa twisted pair of conductors to at least one of the one or more firstsubscriber devices.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the encryptionmodule is configured to add a program system information portion to theencrypted digital moving picture experts group transport stream signal.18. The system of claim 13, further comprising a low-noise blockdownconverter.
 19. The system of claim 13, wherein the vestigial sidebandmodulator is further configured to add an Advanced Television SystemsCommittee standards-compliant wrapper to the encrypted digital movingpicture experts group transport stream.
 20. A computer-readable devicestoring processor executable instructions that when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations including:receiving a satellite signal, the satellite signal comprising a movingpicture experts group portion; decoding the satellite signal to producea digital moving picture experts group transport stream signal thatincludes the moving picture experts group portion by removing a radiofrequency portion from the satellite signal, wherein the radio frequencyportion is removed without substantially altering a sequence of mediacontents of the moving picture experts group portion and withoutsubstantially altering a quality of the media contents of the movingpicture experts group portion; correcting one or more detected errors inthe moving picture experts group transport stream signal to generate acorrected digital moving picture experts group transport stream signal;encrypting the corrected digital moving picture experts group transportstream signal to generate an encrypted corrected digital moving pictureexperts group transport stream signal; converting the encryptedcorrected digital moving picture experts group transport stream signalto vestigial sideband signals, wherein the vestigial sideband signalsinclude a 8-VSB signal and a 16-VSB signal; multicasting the 8-VSBsignal to one or more first subscriber devices via a private accessnetwork; and multicasting the 16-VSB signal to one or more secondsubscriber devices via the private access network.
 21. Thecomputer-readable device of claim 20, wherein the detected errors arecorrected via forward error correction.
 22. The computer-readable mediumdevice of claim 20, wherein the operations further include adding anAdvanced Television Systems Committee standards-compliant wrapper to thevestigial sideband signals, wherein the Advanced Television SystemsCommittee standards-compliant wrapper includes a recalculation of aninitial cyclical redundancy check portion, wherein the initial cyclicalredundancy check portion is associated with the satellite signal. 23.The computer-readable device of claim 20, wherein the encrypting furthercomprises adding a program system information portion to the movingpicture experts group portion.
 24. The computer-readable device of claim20, wherein the operations further include adding an Advanced TelevisionSystems Committee standards-compliant wrapper to the digital movingpicture experts group transport stream signal, wherein the AdvancedTelevision Systems Committee standards-compliant wrapper comprises atleast one of an Advanced Television Systems Committeestandards-compliant forward error correction portion, an AdvancedTelevision Systems Committee standards-compliant descriptor file, anAdvanced Television Systems Committee standards-compliant descriptortable, and an Advanced Television Systems Committee standards-compliantcyclic redundancy check portion.